MariaDB TX, proven in production and driven by the community, is a complete database solution for any and every enterprise — a modern database for modern applications.

It’s important to note that database performance analysis helps in identifying performing issues, showing trends and establishing baseline for a number of processes such as lazy writes, tables and page life expectancy in SQL. Nonetheless, there are reasons to believe that NoSQL is very critical and its future impact across the industry is worth spending time on.

NoSQL simply means “Not only SQL” but goes a little further than that. It means a proper and useful database that any normal business or enterprise can use and not something that only hyperscalers with PhDs can use. Nonetheless NoSQL or any other relational database must be able to support SQL (Structured Query Language) linked with a relational database right from the beginning.

NoSQL is a very flexible, useful and powerful technology; it can handle data in terabytes, scale it to users in their billions and has the ability to do millions of operations per second. It’s also flexible since NoSQL is able to handle semi-structured data in contrast with relational databases, such as JSON, the modern standard form of data for internet of things, mobile and web apps. NoSQL also does one of the most critical services of being the operational database directly supporting the most vital and largest apps ever created.

For companies adding hundreds of production customers annually, the typical process is making the most of NoSQL databases in that they become the chief element of mobile and web apps, such as being user profile or user authentication datastore. This means NoSQL user cases are important, specific and continue growing even as organizations become more experienced with the ability to run the relational database alternatives.

NoSQL Still Has Needs

NOSQL databases still lack a comprehensive query, something that makes organizations to force-fit JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) inside relational models. This makes apps to groan and creak as the amount of data and user numbers skyrocket. JSON data is being wedged by developers into tables expensively and in a very complex way to allow them retain the RDBMS/SQL query capabilities.

This is why there have been lots of attempts towards creating a NoSQL query language with almost no success. The NoSQL query language must be easy enough to be used by developers. In addition, a successful NoSQL query language that will take it to the next level must enable the user to do a number of things. This includes:

Ability to query where the data lies

Understanding the data relationships

Ability to embed and reference data

Creation of new queries devoid of the need to modify the data model underlying

Secondary indexing support allowing manipulation and querying of data

Avoiding mismatch between the database structure and data format occurring when it comes to the storage of JSON into relational tables

Clearly, what developers really want is focusing on building their application and making it work and would hope to see everything else disappearing. No developer is really looking to learn a wholly new language or adopt an entirely new tool. The query language they are in search of must be familiar and easy. The NoSQL query language need to provide value, recognizable, simple and has to be accessible through frameworks and tools already in use by developers such as SQL.

It means SQL is the best solution for NoSQL because as much as NoSQL is flexible and powerful, it must become ubiquitous to be used as a normal operational database for internet of things, mobile and web applications and thus needs an equally flexible and powerful query language. SQL is such a language.

MariaDB AX is an open source database for modern analytics: distributed, columnar and easy to use.